


Bumblebees

by SonyB89



Category: Triple Frontier (2019)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff and Mush, Frankie x Original Female Character, Friends to Lovers, Middle Aged Virgins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:20:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28463016
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SonyB89/pseuds/SonyB89
Summary: Frankies daughter stumbles across the woman who always reads stories at the library in the park and walks over to her, much to Frankies dismay, as his two year old runs away without telling him anything.A friendship starts to bloom that may lead to something more.
Relationships: Francisco "Catfish" Morales & Francisco "Catfish" Morales' Child, Francisco "Catfish" Morales/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, we are all soft for Frankie Morales, right? He deserves love, so love he shall receive!

_**Bumblebees** _

Julia Kinley was not used to being disturbed while she was reading.

On this particular afternoon, as she was sitting on her picknick blanket under a tree in the park, reading _“Northhanger Abbey”_ though, someone decided to keep her company.

“Book.”

Confused, Julia looked up to see that a little girl had stepped onto her blanket and fell on her behind with a _thump_ , watching her with anticipation.

She was wearing a pretty yellow sundress and a light pink vest, her soft, dark curls jumping on her head whenever she moved.

The little girl looked slightly familiar, but then again, whenever it was story time at the library, there were so many kids that listened to her.

“Hello there, sweetheart”, Julia said, putting her book away, much to the little girls dismay. She must have spotted her, which was not hard given her ginger hair and her marshmallow soft figure, and sat down in order to be entertained.

“Are you here all alone? Are you lost?”

“ ** _Marisol_**!”

The answer to her question presented itself in form of a panic-stricken man on the walkway a few yards away, who was searching the park for any sign of his little girl. Julia waved in order to get the mans attention and succeeded.

She was sure that she had never seen a man run this fast in her life. Within seconds the sprinted across the grass, crashed onto his knees and enveloped his little girl in his arms.

“Oh thank god. My little _abejorro_.”

Julia watched patiently as the familiar man wit the dark curls, the beard and the baseball cap checked the little girl for injuries and pressed her into his chest, smothering her.

She had seen him at story time for the last two months, bringing his daughter with him so she could listen to her read. And apparently, they both took a walk in the park together an hour before.

“What were you _thinking_?! You can’t just run off like that on your own. Do you understand me?”

The man cradled his daughters head in his hands, establishing eye contact and doing his best to glare at her, but his worry and relief were still too strong.

“ _Never_ , do that again, you hear me?”

* * *

Little Marisol slowly caught the notion that she had done something wrong, but her brain did not really register what she had done that warranted such a reaction from her Dad.

Confused, she buried her head in her fathers chest and clutched her little hands into his shirt.

As he cradled her in his lap, he slowly registered that he was “trespassing” on someone else’s picknick blanket. Recognition sparked behind his eyes and he sighed, exhausted. 

“I’m so sorry”, he apologized. “Did she bother you? I only turned around for a second to fill up her water bottle, and she was gone in a flash.”

“No worries. I think she just sat down to hear a story. Didn’t you, little one?” 

“Story”, she repeated, freed herself from her fathers arms and decided to sit on Julias lap. 

“Marisol!” 

Julia smiled, shaking her head.

“Are you alright? You look like you just had a heart attack, Mr…”

The man took off his baseball cap and ran his hand through his hair in exhaustion, before deciding that his knees hurt and he sat down. He offered her his other hand, while massaging his neck with the other that was holding his cap.

“Francisco. Francisco Morales. But my friends call me-“

“FISH!”, Marisol exclaimed, clapping her little hands.

“ _Frankie_ … My friends call me Frankie. My army buddies call me Fish, Marisol.”

“Fish…”, she pouted, wiggling her little legs on Julias lap.

“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Mr. _Fish_.”, she giggled. “I’m Julia.”

Franke nodded, and it looked as if his heartbeat was slowly coming down from his panic.

Julia turned her upper body as much as Marisol allowed and placed the picknick basket she had brought between them.

“You’re the nice woman we come and see every Friday at the library”, he said.

“For the last two months it’s been the highlight of her week.”

“I guess you’ll be there later as well? If you want you can join me for my picknick.”

Frankie shook his head.

“We couldn’t possibly-“

“Oh please, stay?”, Julia asked, opening the picknick basket. “I have enough food for three people. I was supposed to meet a friend, but she caught a stomach bug called _tequila_ yesterday and cancelled last minute.”

Franke chuckled, relaxing further.

“Ah, yes, tequila. A horrible stomach bug. Well, if you insist.”

“I do.”

“Then we would be honored.”

* * *

Almost every week before her shift started, they would meet in the park for a walk, a chat or a little snack. They would meet at the playground, watching Marisol on the swings or with the other kids. And they had started a friendship.

That had been at the beginning of summer four months ago. And they had gone by in a flash.

Frankie and Marisol were easy to like, and every Friday like clockwork they would show up to storytime and listen to Julia reading in the library to the other children before going back to her job as a librarian.

Julia chuckled, softly twirling the gold band on her ringfinger.

During one of their talks, Julia had learned that Marisols mother was “ _not in the picture”_ anymore. Marisol didn’t seem to mind, sitting on the bench, eating her ice cream.

“What about your husband?”, Frankie asked, nodding towards the ring on Julias finger that he had noticed almost immediately. “Does he not mind that you’re spending your Fridays with a Single Dad and his little bumblebee?”

“I don’t have a husband, Frankie.”

Frankie looked taken aback, cleared his throat in embarrassment and said: “Oh.. _Oh_! Sorry, I just assumed… Your wife, then? What does she do?”

That made Julia laugh.

“I’m not a lesbian either, Frankie.”

“ _Lesbian_!”, Marisol shouted, making heads turn all across the park.

“Marisol!”, Frankie spluttered. “Of all the words… seriously…”

Julia could see the puzzled look on Frankies face and also the curiosity in his eyes. She stretched out her hand, making the small golden ring sparkle on her finger before taking it off, scooting closer to Marisol, so she could show it to her father.

“Okay, now you absolutely have to tell me the story”, he insisted. “Is it a man-repellant?”

She shook her head.

“See this little green stone in the ring? It’s not anything fancy, it’s just a green plastic pebble from a cheap jewelry store.”

“Continue.”

Julia put the ring back on her finger and sighed, a nostalgic, happy smile spreading on her face.

“I have a younger brother”, she explained. “Our parents did things a little backwards and got married when I was seven and he was five. And when I was seven and saw my mother in her white dress, I wanted to get married too.”

Frankie had taken out a handkerchief and wiped his daughters mouth, but his attention was still with Julia.

“My brother noticed and bought me a cheap three dollar ring at the supermarket with his pocket money, saying that he would marry me when we were older. I kept the ring all those years, but he asked for it back two years ago, when he decided to ask his fiancée to marry him. She said yes. She’s a wonderful woman, and the two of them live in California now. And she did the sweetest thing. They took the old plastic ring, took out the stone and made a gold ring for me. She asked for my brothers hand in marriage at their engagement party, got down on one knee and asked me to be her sister-in-law.”

He listened to her story and was confused by the relief he suddenly felt when finding out that the ring on Julias finger was not a real “wedding” ring. He took a sip of his water bottle, watching as his new friend showed his daughter the peculiar ring.

“So, long story short, I’m not married. I think I’m destined to stay a 30 plus year old single virgin until I turn into a forty year old one.”

Frankie coughed up his water in surprise, clapping his hand against his chest while trying to catch his breath. Julia was just in time to place her hand on Marisols mouth gently before she could shout the word “ _VIRGIN_!” all over the park.

With her other hand she gently patted Frankies back. She had not meant to tell him that little detail about herself. She had never made a big deal out of it either. But to a man like Frankie it was probably something that was hard to imagine.

Julia had noticed the looks of the other women and mothers in the park, eyeing the handsome man. For him, sex was probably a normal occurrence, as it was to most of the population. But for Julia it just hadn’t happened yet.

“You okay?”, she asked.

He nodded. “Fine.. I’m fine, just… Surprised, I guess.”

They changed the topic after that, both silently agreeing that this topic might not be one to be discussed in front of an almost three year old.

That thought reminded Frankie of something.

He dug around in the small leather bag he carried, fishing for a small pink envelope. 

“I’m hosting a little birthday party for Marisols third birthday next weekend. My friends from the army will be there. It’s nothing fancy, bud we’d be happy if you came. I’m gonna fire up the grill and there will be cake.”

 _And my friends really want to meet you_ , he thought bitterly, but he also knew that Marisol really wanted her to be there.

Smiling, she accepted the envelope.

“You know what? I’d love to come. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Cake!”, Marisol exclaimed, hopping off he park bench and running towards the sandpit in a sudden flash of speed, with Frankie hot on her heels.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marisols Birthday party doesn't go as planned

Julia couldn’t remember the last time she was excited for a kids birthday party.  
Being a librarian, she thought it was her duty to make sure that Marisol grew up with books – so the Hungry Caterpillar had been wrapped in paper as a gift and muffins had been made.

Half an hour before she was about to set off, her phone rang.

“Hey Frankie. I’m just about to pack up and come over”, she said, looking forward to seeing them.

An exhausted sigh was the answer to her words.

“I’m so sorry, I forgot to cancel. I just remembered that you were coming”, she heard Frankies voice say over the phone. “Marisol has been sick for the last four days.”

Of course she was disappointed, but the concern for Frankie and his daughter quickly grew.  
“Oh no, the poor dear.”

“It’s the first time she’s sick”, he confessed and Julia could hear the worry and exhaustion in his voice. “The doctor says she’ll just have to go through it, but she’s not making any real progress. I’ve barely slept the last few days, I’m so worried.”

Julia looked at the wrapped up book and the muffins.

“I’m coming over.”

“Oh.. Oh Julia, no, that’s really not necessary. I didn’t mean-“

“I’m. Coming. Over.”

* * *

An hour later, Julia parked her car in front of the house Frankie lived in.

She had not been here before, but the nav system had brought her here.   
It was a shame, the day was absolutely beautiful and probably one of the last warm autumn days before the chills were to set in. The Barbeque would have been great.

Julia popped the trunk and picked up the bag from the pharmacy and the grocery bag.   
She didn’t know if Frankie actually needed anything, but she thought that being a single father must be hard enough.

When she rang the doorbell, laden with groceries and medicine, she hoped that she would be able to at least help him out a little.

When Frankie opened the door, Julia was glad that she had no other plans for the day. She would probably be staying a lot longer than expected.

  
The poor man looked exhausted beyond her imagination.   
The dark circles under his eyes were the least of his worries.   
  
His shirt was on backwards, his skin was pale and he looked ready to drop dead at a moments notice.

“Hey…”, he sighed, leaning against the doorframe. “What’s all this?”

“You sounded exhausted and you once told me that you’re not the best cook, so I imagined that there’s nothing of culinary value in your fridge.”

Frankie was too exhausted to protest and just opened the door a little wider to let her pass.

“The place is a mess”, he whined. “I haven’t had a chance to do laundry or clean or do anything else. It feels like whenever I have a few minutes she starts crying again. The doctors say it’s just a really bad cold, but…”

Julia scanned the living room, kitchen and dining area and agreed that it was a bit messy, but it was nothing that couldn’t be fixed.  
As if she knew that her father was talking about her, the whining of his daughter caught his attention.

While he excused himself to check on her, Julia put down her grocery bag. In addition to feeling awful, little Marisol must feel scared, she figured.  
It was time for the absolute best remedy for any cold – chicken soup.

Frankie came back into the kitchen, Marisol in his arms.  
The little girl was wearing pajamas and clutching a little stuffed bumblebee.

Her eyes were puffy and red, snot was running out of her nose and she was flushed. Her eyes swam with tears. She probably had a headache too.

“Oh, you poor thing. Hello, sweetheart.”

“Time for her medicine” Frankie sighed.

“I brought some stuff from the pharmacy if you want to have a look.”

Cough syrup was administered, much to Marisols displeasure, but she was so tired that she didn’t make a fuss.  
When he had brought her back to bed, Frankie sat down on one of the chairs and pressed his hands to his eyes in utter defeat.

“You need some sleep, Frankie”, Julia insisted, but he shook his head.  
“Everytime I think of lying down, she wakes up again.”

Julia stepped towards him, took his hands into hers and forced him to look at her.

“Listen to me, Francisco Morales”, she said. “You are exhausted. And you can’t take proper care of your daughter if you don’t take care of yourself. So you will get up now, take a shower and then get some shut-eye.”

“But-“

“No buts. I’ll make some food. Shower. Sleep. _Now_. I’ll take care of Marisol.”

He seemed to notice that resistance was futile. He knew she was right. He needed sleep.

“Thank you…”, he mumbled, stood up and stumbled towards what she suspected was his bathroom.

It didn’t take long for the sound of the shower to be heard and Julia was sure that she didn’t imagine the delighted sigh that escaped the room. Hopefully, the tension in his shoulders could be washed away by the hot spray of water.

“Right”, Julia said to herself. “To work.”

She bundled her ginger hair into a bun on her head and wrapped the apron that hung on a hook in the kitchen around her soft frame.

As far as Julia was concerned, cooking was a kind of magic.   
The possibility of making something that tasted good and had the power to make people happy, healthy and content with just a few ingredients mixed in just the right way had always fascinated her.

And she always thought that food even tasted better when she was cooking it while listening to instrumental music.  
Fishing out her cell phone, she fired up her music app and started listening to pop songs covered with violins, chellos and flutes. Careful not to be too loud and waking Marisol again.

A good chicken soup needed at least a few hours to simmer, so once all the ingredients were boiling and the smell had invaded every last corner of the kitchen, Julia stepped into the hallway and listened.

It was quiet.

The door at the end of the hall was open and she took a peek.

Francisco was lying on the bed, on top of his covers, in a fresh pair of jersey pants and a t-shirt, out cold. His chest was rising and falling in a steady rythm and she suspected that he would not wake up anytime soon.

Julia spotted a half full laundry basket in the middle of the room, so she tiptoed inside and picked up the clothes that were strewn about the room.  
Picking up the basket, she closed the door behind her softly.

No sooner was the washing machine running did she hear a soft cry from the little girl. Julia hurried without being too loud and closed the door of the nursery behind her.

“Hey there, little one. What is it?”

“Daddy?”, she asked, her vision still blurry.

“Your Daddy is still asleep, sweetheart.”

“Juice…”, she whined. A coughing fit followed, which made Julia pick up the poor little thing and rub her back affectionately.

She was still warm to the touch, but Julia doubted she had a fever.

Still, plenty of fluids were important and her sippy cup was empty.

“Let’s get you some orange juice and a banana. How does that sound?”, she asked and felt the little girl nuzzle into her neck.

Before Julia could turn towards the kitchen again, there was a knock on a door and a tentavie: “Fish? You there?”

 _My army buddies call me Fish,_ she remembered and smiled to herself.

Frankie had shown her some pictures of his friends on his phone and she was supposed to have met them today at the barbeque. Were they checking on him?

Gripping Marisol a little tighter, she went to the door and had a peek through the hole. Sure enough, three muscular, good looking men were standing outside the house. And she recognized them as the men in the pictures.

She opened the door, careful not to lose her grip on Marisol.

“Fish, what took you so- _oh…_ Hi there.”

“Hello. Frankie is out cold I’m afraid. I sent him to bed.”

“Bossy. I like it. You must be the librarian.”

Julia smiled, liking the three men already. And she tried not to think about the fact that Frankie was talking about her.

“I am indeed. I’m Julia.”

“I’m Will, this is my brother Benny…”, one of the men began, and she interrupted.

“Which means you must be Santiago. Frankie has told me a bit about you all.”

Before they could continue, Marisol whined again and the hearts of the three honorable uncles melted.

“Oh, poor little _abejorro_ ”, Santiago sighed, holding out his arms. “May I?”

Julia handed over the little girl, who was delighted to be held by one of her uncles.   
She ushered them inside. They had brought all kinds of stuff as well, just a bit more “ _manly_ ” stuff, she thought. Meaning steaks, beer and snacks. Not a single vegetable in sight.

“I see you planned on going through with the barbeque after all”, she said as she followed the men into the kitchen.

“We were planning on surprising him. He sounded knackered on the phone when he cancelled today”, Will explained, while Santiago was whispering sweet nothings into the little girls ears to calm her.

“I was just about to get her some juice and something to eat. There’s soup on the stove that should be done in an hour as well.”

The brothers exchanged looks, obviously communicating something between them that she was not supposed to understand.

It didn’t take long for Julia to understand why Frankie liked these men so much.

The next two hours were spent taking care of poor little Marisol, taking turns on rocking her back to sleep, changing her and caring for her.  
Benny volunteered with laundry, while Will picked up the trash that had been piling up in the kitchen and the living room.

It wasn't long until the house was cleaned and they all settled at the dining area.

An absolutely filthy moan escaped Santiagos throat when he tasted one of the muffins Julia had made, almost making her blush.

“I love you…”, he proclaimed. “You’re single, right? Do you want to marry me?”

Benny and Will rolled their eyes but smirked, amused.

“Not going to happen, Pope. She’s way too good for you”, a voice from the door said, making them all turn.

Frankie leaned against the doorframe, a tired smile on his face. His hair was dishevelled and his cheek was decorated with a pillow print.

“Agreed”, the Miller brothers said, making Santiago pout.

“I will only accept rejection from this angel”, he said, taking Julias hand in his, wiggling his brows.

She laughed, blushing.

“Sorry, Santiago. I’m afraid my heart belongs to someone else already.”

 _Oh…_ That was an information that she had not been prepared to share with anyone yet. Especially not with the man she had fallen for.

“Lucky bastard”, Santiago said, smirking. “Whoever it is.”

Frankie looked much better with six solid hours of rest. The rest of the evening was spent in quiet conversation, with lots of good food and the exchange of presents for the birthday girl who was sound asleep.

As she had an early morning, Julia excused herself after the men insisted that she was not to lift another finger and help with the dishes.

“I’ll walk you to your car”, Frankie said.

Turning around, she decided to give each of the men in the room a hug, fully convinced that she had made three new friends.

“I expect all of you at story time at the library soon”, she insisted.

“Only if you make it to one of my next fights”, Benny said, winking.

"We'll see what's more entertaining", Julia joked and turned to slip on her shoes.

Julia couldn’t say what it was, but something about Frankie was off as they walked down the driveway towards her car.

The air had turned chilly now and it smelled as if rain would be settling in very soon.

“I really like your friends. I hope you don’t mind that I let them in.”

“Don’t worry. Knowing them they would have broken in if you hadn’t opened the door.”

Before Julia could press the button on her car key to open the door, she could feel two strong arms wrap around her from behind. Frankies head landed on her shoulders, his lips dangerously close to her ear. He squeezed her tight.

“Thank you so much for today. You really didn’t have to do all this.”

“No worries. That’s what friends are for, right?”, she whispered, trying to ignore that her heart had picked up it’s pace.

“You did my fucking laundry, Julia…”

“You were exhausted, Francisco. Please don’t hesitate to call me when you need help again, okay?”

Carefully she wiggled out of his arms to turn around.   
His eyes were downcast. He massaged his neck, contemplating what he should say next. At least that’s how it seemed to her.

“I just… Being a single dad is hard. I just thought that I’d be enough, you know. But these last few days showed me that I’m not good enough. I can’t even care for my daughter properly when she has a fucking cold… I don’t…”

Julia sighed, put her hands on his cheeks and turned his head. Santiago, Will and Benny were all standing at the window, shamelessly watching them.

“See that? You have three wonderful friends who love Marisol as much as you do. And you have me. Just because you’re a single dad doesn’t mean you’re alone in this. And never let me hear you say again that you’re not good enough. You’re a wonderful dad, Frankie. And Marisol is the luckiest girl in the world, because she has you.”

Suddenly feeling bold, she stood up on her tiptoes and placed a soft kiss on his forehead.

“Now go back in there and be amazing.”

“Yes ma’am”, he said, and Julia was sure that she imagined the blush that decorated his cheeks.


	3. A visit to the Zoo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are entering saucy waters - the rating is changing to Explicit now!  
> But for now, Marisol is still in the picture, so M is the highest I'll go in this chapter

* * *

_Julia felt the shivers that chased the goosebumps down her spine as she writhed on Frankies black sheets, naked and exposed before him.  
Her eyes were half closed and it was hard to make out details in the dark, chilly room.   
One part of his anatomy that she was especially curious to see was blurry, but she didn’t have time to complain, because his large hands were slowly making their way up her body past her ribs._

_“Beautiful”, she heard him mumble, his dark baritone voice making the hairs on her neck stand to attention.  
She could feel his hot breath over one of her nipples._

_“Breathe, darling”, he said, a smile in his voice.  
Only now did she realise that she had stopped breathing in anticipation.  
Frankie had managed what no man before had achieved – he had ignited a flame of undeniable desire inside her and the feeling of his naked skin on hers made her squirm with want._

_“Frankie…”, she moaned, arching her back as he squeezed her full breasts while placing kisses on her stomach, going lower, and lower, and lower…_

* * *

The constant and annoying buzzing of her alarm ripped Julia from her dream.   
She was drenched in cold sweat and with an ache between her legs that had become awfully familiar in the last two weeks.

Her heart was pounding as she reached for her phone to turn off the alarm.   
It was 7 A.M. Not too early to call her best friend.

“Good Morning, Jules”, Valerie chirped, ever the morning person, probably already on her second cup of coffee.

“It happened again”, Julia whined, sitting up, trying to ignore the pulsing between her legs. She wasn’t used to sex dreams.

“Congratulations!”

“Urgh, Val, this is not good!”, Julia said. “I am lusting after a single father and friend who has better things to do than…”

“Shut it right there”, Valerie insisted “and tell me one thing. Did you take care of yourself?”

“….”

“Julia?”

“No…”

Valerie sighed on the other end of the line.

“Julia, it’s not healthy to not act on your urges. Everyone has sex dreams about their friends! Hell, I’ve even had a sex dream about you once!”, her friend said.

Julia blushed. “Th-Thank you?”

Valerie chuckled. “No, _thank you_. From what I remember you did a hell of a job licking my…”

“Val! This is not helping!!”

Julia could hear the cluttering of cutlery in the background, before her friend answered her.

“Look, Jules, what do you want me to say? From what you told me, he’s a wonderful guy. You’ll have to tell him eventually. Knowing you, he’ll probably figure it out sooner or later.”

“What? _Why_?!”, Julia gasped, hoping that she was not _that_ obvious.

“Because you’re a catch and he probably hasn’t had sex in more than three years. Single Dads rarely have time to look for hookups or girlfriends. I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the starlet in some of his dirty dreams too.”

Julia sighed, letting herself fall back into her pillows.  
It wasn’t just that she was attracted to Frankie. She really, _really_ liked him. But she wouldn’t dare getting between him and his daughter.

“I _really_ like him, Val…”, she mumbled, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

She could almost hear the encouraging smile in her friends voice.

“Then tell him and don’t wait too long. Men like him don’t stay single forever.”

They hung up after talking about what the day would bring and Julia went to take a shower, still not daring to take care of her ebbed off arousal. It just felt wrong somehow.

It was her day off, Wednesday, and she didn’t have any plans for today – instead of pining for a certain baseball cap wearing dad.

Without having a look at the caller ID, she picked up her phone when she stepped out of the shower, wrapped in a towel.

“Hello?”

“Morning, Julia. Did I wake you?”

She almost let her phone drop, having Frankies voice in her ear. Almost as near as he had been in her dream…

“H-Hi Frankie!”, she stuttered, gripping the towel tighter, as if he somehow could feel she was naked on the other end of the line.   
“I was awake already, don’t worry.”

“Daddy! Daddy ask her!”, she could hear Marisol and a smile made its way onto her face.

“Easy, _abejorro_. Julia, Marisol wants me to ask you something.”

She chuckled. “I figured as much.”

“It’s your day off today, right? Do you have any plans?”

“No, not really.”

“Marisol and I are heading to the Zoo today and since you took care of us when she was sick, we thought we’d ask you if you want to spend the day with us.”

Julia could hear Marisol in the background again, asking if she was coming along. She looked out the window.   
It was going to be another wonderful autumn day, probably one of the last days of warmth before winter would set in.

Knowing that spending a whole day with the man of her dreams would not help her at all, she almost declined, but hearing Marisol begging her dad to convince her made her sigh.   
Who could denie the wishes of a little girl?

“Sure, I’d love to come.”

“Great! We’ll pick you up in an hour, okay? And don’t you dare prepare anything! I’m paying today.”

* * *

Julia was already waiting in front of her apartment building when Frankie came along with his truck.   
Marisol was in her booster seat in the back, flattening her face to the window to see if she was already there.

“Hi Frankie. Hello Marisol.”

“Ju’ja, Ju’ja!”, the little girl chanted, full of energy. She was back to her energetic cute self, which made Julia grin.  
She wasn’t prepared for Frankies surprised look however.

“You okay, Frankie?”, she asked, sitting down and putting on her seatbelt.  
He shook his head back to concentration and smiled.

“I’m okay. It’s just – I’ve never seen you wearing jeans before. I thought you were a skirt and dresses only girl.”

Julia blushed, gripping her knees tighter.  
It was true that she didn’t really wear a lot of trousers, but a day at the zoo sounded like a “dirty” affair.

“D-Do I look weird?”, she asked.

“No, not at all! It suits you!”, he said, pulling into traffic. “You always look nice, no matter what you wear.”

 _I am going to die of embarrassment_ , Julia thought.   
Surely it was not healthy to blush all the time.

“Are you excited for the Zoo, Marisol?”, she asked, hoping to change the subject and letting Frankie focus on traffic.

Marisol nodded eagerly.

“Pandas. Sheep!”, she declared.

Frankie chuckled.   
“Ah yes, the priorities. First, the petting Zoo and the Aquarium. Then lunch, and then the great tour. And exit through the gift shop.”

“Henry!”, Marisol chirped.

“Who’s Henry?”

“Henry is our favourite”, Frankie explained. “He’s a donkey, born on the same day as Marisol, apparently. They are good friends.”

“Friends”, she agreed, wiggling in her seat.

Not many people had the luxury to stroll through the Zoo on a Wednesday morning, so Frankie, Julia and Marisol almost had the place to themselves.

The Aquarium was especially fascinating.   
A tunnel that separated the visitors from the pools of water that held fish and creatures of the sea in all shapes and sizes.  
Marisol put her nose to the glass ever so often, waving at the tropical fish and laughing hysterically as an octopus hurried away, leaving a cloud of ink in it’s wake.

As magical as the Aquarium was, Marisol got most excited at the petting zoo, which housed everything from regular farm animals to rescue animals and pets.

Julia was sitting on a hay bale, watching Frankie and his daughter pet some bunnies, when all of a sudden, a giant head rested on her lap.

“Frankie!”, she whispered. “Frankie, look!”

A cow had decided to lie down next to her, resting her head on Julias lap, demanding scratches.

Frankie grinned. “That’s Belinda. She’s an old, blind lady. But she likes cuddles.”

Julias heart melted as the cows cold, moist nose buried itself into her stomach.   
She showered her with love, scratching her neck and ears, carefully avoiding the small horns. Her eyes were covered with fog, but still beautiful.

Soon enough, Marisol spotted Henry standing by a fence and she ran over, Frankie hot on her heels while Julia took her time to share some love with the old lady.

Lunchtime came all too soon, but Marisol was exhausted after running around for three hours, already dozing in her stroller when they arrived at the small restaurant on the zoo grounds.

“Lunch outside?”, Frankie asked and Julia was ready to call this a perfect day – until the unfortunate tiger incident.

Fed and full of energy, Marisol demanded the tour to continue.   
While Frankie pushed the now empty stroller, his little girl pulled Julia from habitat to habitat to watch the Zebras, Penguins, Bears, Deer and of course, her beloved Pandas.

The Tigers outdoor habitat was being cleaned when they arrived, which was why the two Tigers were pacing around in their cage, eager to get out again.

“So pretty…”, Marisol gasped at the majestic cats, almost rushing to the cage. Frankie caught her in time and turned around to tell her not to scare the big cats, but it was too late.

Julia was too late to warn Frankie, as one of the tigers pacing the edge of the cage lifted her tail, turned around and _sprayed_ him.

“Gah!”

“Frankie! Are you okay?”

He was definitely not okay. One of the Tigers had _marked_ him, spraying him from head to toe in a not very nice smelling perfume like liquid.

“Oh god..”, he gagged, while his daughter had the audacity to laugh hysterically at him.

“Are you alright, sir?”, one of the zoo employees asked from the habitat, glaring at the tiger.   
“Sorry, she gets spooked easily.”

“ ‘m fine”, Frankie coughed.

Julia looked around and to her relief she saw a few picnic benches and tables, and a toilet booth.

“Frankie, wait over there, okay? I’ll be right back.”

He didn’t have the chance to call her back, as she dashed into the direction of the Zoos entrance and returned five minutes later with a rescue plan.

“Come on, let’s get you cleaned up”, Julia said, pushing Marisol and her stroller into the toilet for disabled people that also held a diaper changing table and could fit all three of them easily.

“What-“

Julia already held the towel she had bought at the gift shop under the tap and soaped it up a bit.

“I got you a fresh T-Shirt at the gift shop. Sorry, the only colour they had left was pink, but I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“Julia-“, he said, but she kept on babbling.

“You’ll have to wash this immediately when you get home”, she continued, placing the towel at the edge of the sink and unbuttoning his flannel shirt.

Without realizing what she was doing, she peeled off the flannel from his shoulders, ignoring that it landed on the floor.

“I don’t think your pants got sprayed, but you’ll have to-“

Only when she put her left hand on his naked muscular chest and placed the soaped up towel onto his neck, did she realize what was happening.

She had basically stripped him and was now washing him. In a closed off room. With almost no space between them.  
  
Feeling his breath under her palms, she marveled at the almost inaudible hiss that escaped his lips as her fingernails accidentally scratched his skin.

She gulped, flushing, her breath suddenly escaping her in short gasps.   
She didn’t dare move her hand or the towel that was dripping. Single droplets were racing across his skin, getting caught on little curls of chesthair.

The temperature seemed to rise, the room was getting smaller with every breath they took.

“Julia…”, Frankie whispered, finally making her look up.  
He had put his cap away, probably the only thing that had saved his eyes from the vicious tiger attack. His pupils were slightly dilated – and did he really just peek at her lips for a second?

She wasn’t sure if he leaned in after grabbing her wrist that held the wet towel, and she couldn’t recall if she was leaning forward to meet him half way.

“Daddy! You stink!”

The spell was broken as Marisol declared that her father should hurry up and wash himself already.

Julia took a step back rapidly, letting Frankie grab the wet towel.

Blushing violently, she looked everywhere but at him and his naked chest.

“I… I’ll just … We’ll wait outside okay?”, she babbled, grabbing Marisols stroller and pushing through the door to wait outside.

Julia tried to calm her rapidly beating heart once she was outside, one hand gripping the stroller, the other clenched the fabric of her t-shirt above her heart.

_Did I really just almost kiss Frankie? In front of his daughter?!_

“Ju’ja?”

Marisols voice brought her back to reality.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Can I have juice?”, she asked, looking at the door expectantly.   
She couldn’t ask her father, so she was the next best source of nutrition.

“Sure, sweety. Where did we put your cup?”

It took another five minutes for Frankie to come out of the toilet.   
The T-Shirt was a tight fit, but not too small.   
It made his arms seem even muscular. He had shoved the moist towel, his cap and his flannel into the plastic bag from the gift shop and stored it under the stroller.

Did she just imagine it or was he now able to meet her gaze as well?

He looked at his watch and sighed.

“We uh-, we should probably head back. It’s getting late.”

Julia nodded and together they headed back to the entrance.

“Ah yes, the last battle. The gift shop”, he chuckled when the automatic doors opened and Marisol jumped from her seat, already heading to the wall where they kept the stuffed animals.

Frankie was approached by a zoo employee and was gifted a voucher for the shop to compensate for the unfortunate tiger accident, so together they were browsing the wall.

“I don’t believe this”, Julia laughed, grabbing for a small grey-blue plushie – one that was in stock in abundance. “I’m _so_ getting this one.”

“Oh god, please don’t.”

“But Frankie, it’s a _catfish_. I need to get it! So I can cuddle with it at night.”

 _Shut up, Julia!_ , she thought, turning around, blushing again.   
She really had to get a grip.

“I want a tiger!”, Marisol claimed.   
Frankie sighed, grabbed the stuffed tiger and went to the cash registry, but not before fetching the catfish from her friends hands first.

“Frankie, no! I’ll get it myself. You’ve paid for so much already.”

“No buts. My treat today, remember?”

* * *

Marisol slept the whole way home, blissfully ignorant of the awkward silence that had engulfed the car.   
Everytime she thought she could break the ice and say something, she hesitated.

They were almost back to the city when Julias phone pinged, a message tone that she was not really used to. She looked at the message, her brows frowing.

“Everything alright?”, Frankie asked, his voice curious.

“Can you turn on the radio for a sec?”, Julia asked in return.

“ _… there have been no injuries, but the street will not be passable due to the flooding. Residents are being asked to search for temporary accommodation for the night if they can’t make the detour…”,_ the voice of a news anchor said, making Julia sigh.

“A massive pipe burst under Granville street”, she explained. “I just got a ping on my traffic warnings app. I won’t be able to get home today.”

Frankie didn’t say anything as she fired up her search app.

“I’ll have to look up a motel to stay at for the night..”, she mumbled.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Motels are filthy. You’re staying with us.”

Julia almost snapped her neck, looking at him. His face didn’t betray a single emotion.

“W-What?”

“You can stay with us”, he repeated.   
“I’ll pop your clothes into the washer and I’ll drop you off at work tomorrow morning. And I’ll sleep on the couch. But I won’t let you spend the night at a filthy hotel.”

For the umpteenth time that day, Julia was not sure if the universe loved or hated her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That thing with the tiger? It happened to me.... They are vicious creatures.


End file.
